Library Of Congress Looking For Vets' Stories

American soldiers examining their new rifles after turning in the old ones.

Library of Congress
/ Veterans History Project

Originally published on May 25, 2017 8:24 am

As Memorial Day approaches, the Library of Congress is calling on families and friends of those who served in uniform to help preserve their stories.

The hope is rally volunteers to collect personal accounts of American war veterans on video, audio and in writing so that future generations can learn of the realities of war first hand.

The stories and materials will be chronicled in the Veterans History Project which was started by Congress in 2000. Ever since then, the Library of Congress has been marshalling volunteers to interview veterans and share their stories.

The Library of Congress also is collecting remembrances from family members about war veterans who are already gone.

“If you have photos, diaries or journals of a deceased veteran, please consider donating them to us. And if you can record your memories of your deceased vet, we’d love to add that to their collection,” states a Veterans History Project public service announcement.

Complete guidelines on how to record your memories as well as donate materials are available online at LOC.gov/Vet.

The House has approved legislation that would make it harder to keep veterans who are "mentally incapacitated, deemed mentally incompetent" or prone to blackouts from buying guns. Critics of the bill say it could raise the suicide rate among veterans — a rate that has risen in the past decade.

At least a dozen Democrats joined Republicans to support the bill, which was approved by a 240-175 vote.